Appalachia, VA – In the pre-dawn rain, members of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) waited to deliver a citizen mine inspection request letter to workers at the foot of an A&G Coal Corp. surface mine in Appalachia, VA. The strip mine on Looney Ridge of Black Mountain, above the community of Inman, was the source of the boulder that killed three-year-old Jeremy Davidson 10 years ago today. The mine was recently cited for bond forfeiture by the Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy. Local residents are concerned that the mine, and many others controlled by billionaire Jim Justice, continues to be out of compliance for required reclamation and reforestation.

The community group is asking that Jim Justice and the VA DMME allow for regular citizen mine inspections to ensure that Justice is in compliance with the law, and applying the best available reclamation techniques on operations like this one. The group has previously asked for citizen inspections of this mine, as allowed by SMCRA, but been denied.

The Wise County residents hoped to meet the morning shift at 5:30 this morning, before delivering the same mine inspection request to the DMME. By 7:00 AM, workers had still not arrived, and so the group left their letter behind a band of caution tape in front of the entrance. The letter can be found at JusticeToJustice.com, or below.

“I’m from Inman and we’re here today to deliver a letter to someone from the Justice Group,“ said Ben Hooper, member of SAMS. “They should be working here today as part of the deal worked out with the DMME for reclamation on Looney Ridge, where their bond was revoked, but apparently they’re not. We left a letter here at the entrance to the site, we’re hoping to get the attention of Mr. Jim Justice, to tell him that he needs to be here, working, cleaning up the mess he’s made, as he promised the DMME he would. We need these issues addressed, for the safety and health of the people living in these communities below these operations.

Justice’s operations across the region have fallen under scrutiny, including a $10 million dollar reclamation settlement announced August 19th in Kentucky, including $1.5 million in fines. In July it was revealed by the Louisville Courier-Journal that Justice companies had at least 266 pending surface mine violations in five states .

Jim Justice was recently handed down bond forfeiture requests by the VA DMME for failure to comply with reclamation requirements on four different Wise County mines. The group is demanding that Justice immediately put people to work reclaiming and reforesting these operations, using techniques prescribed by the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative, and that citizens be allowed to monitor these activities to ensure independent verification of the work.

Jane Branham, Vice President of SAMS, shared “We came here, before daylight, to the gates of A&G’s operations, to deliver a message: Pay off your fines, pay your debts to workers, and clean up your mess, or get out of our community. These jobs are sitting idle, and people are not working. There’s opportunity to create lasting jobs, and a better future, if we clean up these strip jobs. There’s enormous potential for jobs in healing the land and sustainably using our natural resources. Justice wants more permits to create more devastation, and we want it to stop.”

According to a 2010 study by West Virginia-based Downstream Strategies, there is potential for up to 35,000 new jobs in the Central Appalachian region through the remediation of bond forfeiture sites, abandoned mine lands and acid mine drainage sites.

The letter delivery this morning is part of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards Justice to Justice campaign. The campaign aims to draw attention to Jim Justice’s legacy of violations and impacts to communities, and to push him to aid in the economic future of Central Appalachia by putting people to work healing the land that has been scarred by his surface operations.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) is an organization of concerned community members and their allies who are working to stop the destruction of our communities by surface coal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities. We support safe and responsible underground mining and work for the diversification of our coalfield economies.

The Justice To Justice Campaign is a regional effort calling on Jim Justice to commit to supporting a bright, healthy future, a diverse economy, and fair treatment of workers across Central Appalachia.

www.JusticeToJustice.com

Citizen Mine Inspection Request Letter

Delivered 8/20/14

Justice Group operations across the region are facing cessation orders and violations from both state and federal agencies. We believe that this mine is in violation of SMCRA, the Clean Water Act and other statutes meant to protect human health and communities from the worst impacts of surface mining

We call on Jim Justice to immediately, settle outstanding debts to workers, settle fines and violations with regulatory agencies, and to put local people to work on these permits by beginning reclamation and reforestation activities.

Jim Justice’s operations have demonstrated an on going problem with maintaining full compliance of laws meant to protect communities, and state agencies have not done enough to reign in these problem sites.

We as SAMS call on Justice to voluntarily start cleaning up his mess, as a gesture of good faith, we would like to see you begin by granting us a citizen inspection that was denied to us last year when the Meg Lynn land permit on Looney Ridge was being renewed. We would also like permission to test outfalls on this permit, as well as the Bearpen Hollow and Looney Ridge Surface mine permit, where you failed to turn in quarterly monitoring reports according NOV JRJ0000710 as well NOV JRJ0000992. We wish to verify for ourselves, the water quality from these ponds.

We are focusing on this operation today due to pending bond forfeitures, but we are generally concerned about all of your operations, and would like to set up a meeting with Jim Justice and Southern Coal leadership, to discuss our concerns.

If you wish to address our concerns feel free to contact us at our office at 276-565-6167, or via email: samsva@gmail.com.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) is an organization of concerned community members and their allies who are working to stop the destruction of our communities by surface coal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities.

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Also, the beautiful and courageous community that makes up Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards has once again saved Ison Rock Ridge. This mountain stands directly over the house I used to live in and countless homes and families would be impacted if it were mind. CONGRATULATIONS SAMS (and all my dear friends) and the other organizations that helped to save this mountain once again!

VICTORY! Our activists and allies at Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards triumphed this week when the permit for a new mountaintop removal site in Wise County, VA was rejected! The Ison Rock Ridge mine would have destroyed 1,300 acres of mountain, buried 14,000 feet of streams, and polluted local water.

Virginia Organizing and Virginia Sierra Club invite you to attend a training workshop to learn and share in a dialogue of experiences, knowledge and skills for being actively engaged on the climate and related environmental issues affecting our communities. WHAT: Southwest Virginia Climate Change Wo…

FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE
Fossil Fuels Are Hazardous
Train carrying crude oil from the Bakken Shale formation in North Dakota derails near Montgomery, West Virginia....exploding into a massive fireball forcing residents to evacuate. Crude oil from the crash is also leaking into the Kanawha River. Governor Tomblin issues state of emergency for Fayette and Kanawha Counties in WV.
Its just fossil fuel business as usual.
http://www.wsaz.com/…/Train-Derailment-Causes-Fire-near-Mon…
http://www.wchstv.com/…/Area-Being-Evacuated-After-Train-De…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakken_formation
#fossilfuels #oil #gas #fracking #coal #disasters

FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE
Fossil Fuels Are Hazardous
Train carrying crude oil from the Bakken Shale formation in North Dakota derails near Montgomery, West Virginia....exploding into a massive fireball forcing residents to evacuate. Crude oil from the crash is also leaking into the Kanawha River. Governor Tomblin issues state of emergency for Fayette and Kanawha Counties in WV.
But its just fossil fuel business as usual.
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Train-Derailment-Causes-Fire-near-Montgomery-Evacuation-Underway-292096241.html
http://www.wchstv.com/news/features/eyewitness-news/stories/Area-Being-Evacuated-After-Train-Derails-In-Fayette-County-Spills-Oil-Into-River-82336.shtml#.VOJ68_nF-So
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakken_formation
#fossilfuels #oil #gas #fracking #coal #disasters #Bakken Bakken Oilfield Fail of the Day

Snowed In, Cumberland Gap National Park
Out of the south comes the storm, and out of the north the cold. Job 37:9
This image and more available as fine art prints, canvas prints, framed prints, metal prints, acrylic prints and several other options at:
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/isolation-anthony-heflin.html
On 500px:
www.500px.com/anthonyheflin

Jim Justice, how will these profits give back to communities in SWVA impacted by your coal operations?
Please support the Justice to Justice Campaign by signing this petition: https://www.bit.ly/signjtoj

BREAKING NEWS: Coal Baron Jim Justice Sells Ski Resort, Will Profits go to Benefit Coal Impacted Communities?
The recent sale of the Wintergreen Resort will turn a great profit for Jim Justice, a coal baron with an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion. But, what does this mean for the communities in Appalachia attempting to transition in failing coal economies? Will coal barons like Jim Justice simply pick up and leave Central Appalachia footing the bill for destructive mining impacts?
"Justice should take the money he just made off selling this ski resort and, put it toward cleaning up the destruction and rampant toxic water pollution caused by his mining operations across Appalachia" said Sierra Club Organizer Marley Green.
Read More: http://www.newsleader.com/story/news/2015/02/12/greenbrier-owner-sells-wintergreen-resort/23335283/
SIGN JUSTICE TO JUSTICE PETITION: https://www.bit.ly/signjtoj
READ OUR DEMANDS: https://www.bit.ly/jtojdemands

"Eastern Kentucky and other areas of Appalachia that were hit hard by a sharp drop in coal jobs could get a $1 billion lifeline under the budget proposal put forth Monday by President Barack Obama, although the budget faces difficult prospects in Congress."
Let your representatives know that you support this plan in the President's budget to help diversify Appalachia's economy and put our people back to work!

Eastern Kentucky and other areas of Appalachia hit hard by a sharp drop in coal jobs could get a $1 billion lifeline under the budget proposal put forth Monday by President Barack Obama, though the budget faces difficult prospects in Congress.

Forgotten Grist Mill, Southwestern VA
Every time I travel through this part of Virginia I swing by this old mill. This awesome piece of history is privately owned and maintained and I am thankful for that. There aren't too many of these old mills left. Eventually, we will be left only with pictures. If you like it, share and comment! Even hitting the like button will keep me in your news feed and help my images spread!
He gives snow like wool, He scatters the frost like ashes. Psalms 147:16
More of my work and prints at:
www.anthony-heflin.artistwebsites.com
On 500px:
www.500px.com/anthonyheflin

Speak out for wise investments in southwest Virginia that benefit residents. Join us at one of three community forums in January to share your ideas about how to make our region stronger, including looking for alternatives to the harmful Coalfields Expressway project. (Can't make it? This link includes a comment form you can send.)
http://appvoices.org/citizens-alternative-forums-cfx/

Reminder. The annual election for the SAMS board of directors will be March 17th. Nominations for the SAMs board are now open, and will close at the SAMS February membership meeting (Feb 17).
If you would like to make a nomination of a SAMS board member, Please contact Kendall Bilberay at kendall@theallianceforappalachia.org. Kendall will be checking to see if your membership dues are current as you nominate. SAMS will be accepting nominations for President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and two board member positions.
Please note: People who pay their dues after March the 8th, will be inelegible to vote in the upcoming election.

Speak out for wise investments in southwest Virginia that benefit residents. Join us at one of three community forums in January to share your ideas about how to make our region stronger, including looking for alternatives to the harmful Coalfields Expressway project. (Can't make it? This link includes a comment form you can send.)
http://appvoices.org/citizens-alternative-forums-cfx/

Check out the poster (by Maya Renfro of Atoka Chase) for FRACK-tose Intolerant: An Evening with Buddhagraph Spaceship in a couple of weeks at Sycamore Deli!!
Join us for an evening of music and information as we rally consciousness in efforts to spread awareness concerning the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline project through VA and WV.
FREE SHOW presented by Buddhagraph Spaceship, the Pink Moon Festival, and opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
https://www.facebook.com/events/927508680593749/

Isolation, Cumberland Gap National Park
There is nothing quite like a fresh snow! Getting to this isolated location in it was not an easy endeavor but I think it was worth the trouble! If you agree, like and comment! Shares are also much appreciated!
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Isaiah 55:10
Prints of this image and more at:
www.anthony-heflin.artistwebsites.com

In November, I attended a meeting held at UVa-Wise, arranged by Gov. McAuliffe and conducted by Secretary of Commerce Maurice Jones, to discuss the governor's four-year economic plan for the commonwealth.

Speak out for wise investments in southwest Virginia that benefit residents. Join us at one of three community forums in January to share your ideas about how to make our region stronger, including looking for alternatives to the harmful Coalfields Expressway project. (Can't make it? This link includes a comment form you can send.)
http://appvoices.org/citizens-alternative-forums-cfx/
Speak out for wise investments in southwest Virginia that benefit residents. Join us at one of three community forums in January to share your ideas about how to make our region stronger, including looking for alternatives to the harmful Coalfields Expressway project. (Can't make it? This link includes a comment form you can send.)
http://appvoices.org/citizens-alternative-forums-cfx/

Speak out for wise investments in southwest Virginia that benefit residents. Join us at one of three community forums in January to share your ideas about how to make our region stronger, including looking for alternatives to the harmful Coalfields Expressway project. (Can't make it? This link includes a comment form you can send.)
http://appvoices.org/citizens-alternative-forums-cfx/

Just reading my favorite newsletter from my favorite grassroots organization doing amazing work! My mom brought the newsletter to me in Mexico, I dropped it in a pool, and now it's being read in Florida. Lots of love coming at y'all from all over!

Speak out for wise investments in southwest Virginia that benefit residents. Join us at one of three community forums in January to share your ideas about how to make our region stronger, including looking for alternatives to the harmful Coalfields Expressway project. (Can't make it? This link includes a comment form you can send.)
http://appvoices.org/citizens-alternative-forums-cfx/

Speak out for wise investments in southwest Virginia that benefit residents. Join us at one of three community forums in January to share your ideas about how to make our region stronger, including looking for alternatives to the harmful Coalfields Expressway project. (Can't make it? This link includes a comment form you can send.)
http://appvoices.org/citizens-alternative-forums-cfx/

An injury to one is an injury to all! - The IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus liked your page as our own - https://www.facebook.com/IWWEnvironmentalUnionistCaucus. Check us out too! - http://ecology.iww.org

The IWW Environmental Unionist Caucus seeks to unite the labor movement and the environmental movement to take direct action to transition unsafe and unsustainable industry to an industry that meets the best labor and environmental standards.

Ok friends. The fund drive for the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards has been pretty successful, but we're still short of our goal of $6,000 raised to keep our doors open and the victories coming. Can you take a minute and make a donation over at www.SAMSVA.org?
Big Little or In The Middle, every little bit counts!

Friends of Mountains, Clean Water and Healthy Communities, please like, share and give!
We here at the SAMS family want to extend our warm wishes to your family this holiday season. And as the year draws to an end, we are asking all of our members and allies to make a contribution to SAMS at
http://www.samsva.org/?page_id=1911
Your contribution goes directly to keeping our doors open so that we can continue to do the important work of protecting our mountains and communities in Southwest Virginia.
2014 has seen major victories for SAMS in our ongoing legal battles to hold coal companies accountable to the messes they have made. This year we have won an important case against Kelly's Branch Surface Mine which had been dumping toxic selenium into our streams and harming the aquatic life of our local watershed. We were also successful in getting the Federal Highway Administration to require a supplemental environmental impact statement on the coalfields expressway.
2014 has also been a year of loss. In October we mourned the passing of our long time board member Judiana Stines. Her legacy of joy will inspire us always. The SAMS community was not the only one to experience loss. We also pay tribute to Scott Ellis, Lenny Kohm, and Sid Moye who left us this year.
But from this loss, we must continue to build a new future for our communities. The recent bust in coal prices has opened up new doors in our communities. Our leaders and citizens alike are beginning to see the dire need for economic transition beyond the coal mono-economy. SAMS has made a place for ourselves at the front of that transition with our highly successful APPALCEED program.
APPALCEED (Appalachian Communities Encouraging Economic Diversity) is a project of SAMS that meets regularly and hosts workshops that bring together local and regional farmers, entrepreneurs, and interested citizens to provide skills-based training and information on small scale agriculture such as orchard development and cider making. This project has successfully grown the SAMS member base in Southwest Virginia and has led to new partnerships being forged.
None of this would be possible without your contribution. We rely on the generosity of our members and supporters to keep our doors open and lights on. Please give generously this season. We are counting on you to help us make 2015 a successful year full of victories and progress.
You can make a donation online at:
http://www.samsva.org/?page_id=1911
You can also send a tax deductible donation to our fiscal sponsor, Virginia Organizing (V.O.). Send your check to: Virginia Organizing
703 Concord Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
Make the check out to “Virginia Organizing” and write “SAMS” in the memo line. Thank you so much for your continued support of SAMS!
Moira WilliamsMatthew HeplerDawn Jackson HooperAdam HooperBecca Holmes, Julie Shepherd-PowellSam BroachGabby Emily GillespieJohanna De GraffenreidJudiana Stines Marley Green

Hey yall, this amazing group I work with, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, missed Giving Tuesday, but better late than never, right? There are so many good groups in the world that need your support, but if you take a second to give a little to this one, you'll be standing with a small, determined group of people fighting for a brighter tomorrow in Appalachia, Virginia, holding King Coal accountable, and pushing for a more diverse economy in the mountains!
Please like and share, whether you can give or not, and spread the word.

Friends of Mountains, Clean Water and Healthy Communities, please like, share and give!
We here at the SAMS family want to extend our warm wishes to your family this holiday season. And as the year draws to an end, we are asking all of our members and allies to make a contribution to SAMS at
http://www.samsva.org/?page_id=1911
Your contribution goes directly to keeping our doors open so that we can continue to do the important work of protecting our mountains and communities in Southwest Virginia.
2014 has seen major victories for SAMS in our ongoing legal battles to hold coal companies accountable to the messes they have made. This year we have won an important case against Kelly's Branch Surface Mine which had been dumping toxic selenium into our streams and harming the aquatic life of our local watershed. We were also successful in getting the Federal Highway Administration to require a supplemental environmental impact statement on the coalfields expressway.
2014 has also been a year of loss. In October we mourned the passing of our long time board member Judiana Stines. Her legacy of joy will inspire us always. The SAMS community was not the only one to experience loss. We also pay tribute to Scott Ellis, Lenny Kohm, and Sid Moye who left us this year.
But from this loss, we must continue to build a new future for our communities. The recent bust in coal prices has opened up new doors in our communities. Our leaders and citizens alike are beginning to see the dire need for economic transition beyond the coal mono-economy. SAMS has made a place for ourselves at the front of that transition with our highly successful APPALCEED program.
APPALCEED (Appalachian Communities Encouraging Economic Diversity) is a project of SAMS that meets regularly and hosts workshops that bring together local and regional farmers, entrepreneurs, and interested citizens to provide skills-based training and information on small scale agriculture such as orchard development and cider making. This project has successfully grown the SAMS member base in Southwest Virginia and has led to new partnerships being forged.
None of this would be possible without your contribution. We rely on the generosity of our members and supporters to keep our doors open and lights on. Please give generously this season. We are counting on you to help us make 2015 a successful year full of victories and progress.
You can make a donation online at:
http://www.samsva.org/?page_id=1911
You can also send a tax deductible donation to our fiscal sponsor, Virginia Organizing (V.O.). Send your check to: Virginia Organizing
703 Concord Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
Make the check out to “Virginia Organizing” and write “SAMS” in the memo line. Thank you so much for your continued support of SAMS!
Moira WilliamsMatthew HeplerDawn Jackson HooperAdam HooperBecca Holmes, Julie Shepherd-PowellSam BroachGabby Emily GillespieJohanna De GraffenreidJudiana Stines Marley Green

Friends of Mountains, Clean Water and Healthy Communities, please like, share and give!
We here at the SAMS family want to extend our warm wishes to your family this holiday season. And as the year draws to an end, we are asking all of our members and allies to make a contribution to SAMS at
http://www.samsva.org/?page_id=1911
Your contribution goes directly to keeping our doors open so that we can continue to do the important work of protecting our mountains and communities in Southwest Virginia.
2014 has seen major victories for SAMS in our ongoing legal battles to hold coal companies accountable to the messes they have made. This year we have won an important case against Kelly's Branch Surface Mine which had been dumping toxic selenium into our streams and harming the aquatic life of our local watershed. We were also successful in getting the Federal Highway Administration to require a supplemental environmental impact statement on the coalfields expressway.
2014 has also been a year of loss. In October we mourned the passing of our long time board member Judiana Stines. Her legacy of joy will inspire us always. The SAMS community was not the only one to experience loss. We also pay tribute to Scott Ellis, Lenny Kohm, and Sid Moye who left us this year.
But from this loss, we must continue to build a new future for our communities. The recent bust in coal prices has opened up new doors in our communities. Our leaders and citizens alike are beginning to see the dire need for economic transition beyond the coal mono-economy. SAMS has made a place for ourselves at the front of that transition with our highly successful APPALCEED program.
APPALCEED (Appalachian Communities Encouraging Economic Diversity) is a project of SAMS that meets regularly and hosts workshops that bring together local and regional farmers, entrepreneurs, and interested citizens to provide skills-based training and information on small scale agriculture such as orchard development and cider making. This project has successfully grown the SAMS member base in Southwest Virginia and has led to new partnerships being forged.
None of this would be possible without your contribution. We rely on the generosity of our members and supporters to keep our doors open and lights on. Please give generously this season. We are counting on you to help us make 2015 a successful year full of victories and progress.
You can make a donation online at:
http://www.samsva.org/?page_id=1911
You can also send a tax deductible donation to our fiscal sponsor, Virginia Organizing (V.O.). Send your check to: Virginia Organizing
703 Concord Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
Make the check out to “Virginia Organizing” and write “SAMS” in the memo line. Thank you so much for your continued support of SAMS!
Moira WilliamsMatthew HeplerDawn Jackson HooperAdam HooperBecca Holmes, Julie Shepherd-PowellSam BroachGabby Emily GillespieJohanna De GraffenreidJudiana Stines Marley Green

Hey folks, if you've got friends in Pittsburgh, tell them to come out to the Pittsburgh Friends Meeting House at 4835 Elsworth Avenue Saturday night at 7:30 for traditional and original music to benefit the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and the EQAT (Earth Quaker Action Team)! Our good friends and solid allies the Earth Quakers have invited me up from Wise County to perform and they are very graciously sending me home with half of the funds raised to contribute to the work of SAMS!

The report discusses the Obama Administration’s successes and shortfalls in addressing the impacts of mountaintop removal and investing in a just and sustainable economy in Appalachia. Read the report here : (Grassroots Progress Report)

Morning Burn, Blue Ridge Mountains
How many of you guys have seen the sunrise over the North Carolina Mountains? Never a disappointment! If you don't already follow, give my page a like for more images in and around the Appalachian Mountains!
More at: www.anthony-heflin.artistwebsites.com

We’re Hiring Posted on November 10, 2014 by admin The Alliance for Appalachia Job AnnouncementApplications accepted until November 28th Background: The Alliance for Appalachia is a regional alliance with the goals of ending mountaintop removal coal mining, putting a halt to destructive coal technolo…

We’re looking for the next class of organizers to make an Impact in our country. Please like our new page and share this image and help us get the word out about our new Facebook page and job openings! http://www.facebook.com/weareimpact.org

What the Friends of Coal or the United Mine Workers of America or the Coal Associations and Coal politicians wont tell you about our work....people in Appalachia ARE trying to to make a difference. We are not the bad guys, we are not trying to take jobs...we are trying to build a better economy.
Great work from The Alliance for Appalachia, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, OVEC, Coal River Mountain Watch, Appalachian Voices, Stay Pro Ject, and many, many other people in Appalachia working for healthy communities and healthy economies.

Please forward widely!
The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (samsva.org) and The RReNEW Collective (rrenewcollective.org) are in need of some community-minded, hard-working, collectively-motivated interns for the winter and spring. The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards is an organization of concerned community members and their allies who are working to stop the destruction of our communities by surface coal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities. We are looking for interns to help continue with this work in the coming year. Interns are provided with a food stipend and housing in the RReNEW House in the beautiful town of Appalachia, Virginia. Our interns have worked on many different projects over the years, and we are happy to work with the right person to develop projects that are appropriate for their skill sets. However, we currently have some glaring needs for intern support, detailed below:
Justice to Justice Campaign Coordinators:
This past year, SAMS launched our newest campaign, the Justice to Justice Campaign. This campaign seeks to hold coal billionaire Jim Justice accountable for his negligence in the reclamation of his mines, his poor treatment of his workers, and the rampant environmental destruction caused by his strip mines. We are in need of several motivated interns to coordinate campaign listening projects, continue research into Jim Justice’s operations and holdings, and plan and facilitate regional and local meetings.
Mountain Justice Spring Break Event Planners:
For several years, Mountain Justice, The RReNEW Collective, and the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards have banded together to put on Mountain Justice Spring Break in Virginia. MJSB is a week-long service and action camp, inviting students all over the country to Wise County to learn about the rich history and unique struggles of central Appalachia. The ten-day programming hosts dozens of workshops on organizing, Appalachian culture, non-violent direct action, and related movement work, while also providing many opportunities for service projects around the region. We need dedicated individuals to live in Wise County and help to bottom-line logistics, agenda planning, and outreach for this event.
SAMS Fundraising Coordinator:
As a small grassroots organization, the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards is run entirely on donations and grant money. We are looking for an intern to take on the day-to-day tasks of fundraising coordination, including organizing our end of the year phone bank, researching and writing appropriate grants, planning fundraisers and helping the organization stay on budget for the coming year.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Interested interns should apply online at rrenewcollective.org, and send your resume to our Intern Coordinator, Dawn Hooper, at dawnhooper_1@yahoo.com. If you'd like more information or have questions about internship specifics, feel free to call the RReNEW House (276-565-2073) or the SAMS office (276-565-6167). We hope to hear from you soon!

Yesterday SAMS long time friend and board member Judiana Stines passed away. Her positive attitude and spirit will be greatly missed amongst our membership. Her serivice will be at the Roy Green funeral home at Appalachia, viewing is 5-7 PM on Friday, The funeral is at 7PM.

Big Sandy River Basin Coalition will be hosting a river sweep on the Tug Fork River from ARH Hospital on Route 292 to Hwy. 119 Chatteroy, WV on September 19 from 9am-4pm. Our goal is to remove tires and other debris from the Tug Fork River.
Date: Friday, September 19, 2014 - 9:00am to 4:00pm
Event Address:
Route 292
South Williamson, KY 41503

We're happy to see the courts ruling in favor of our communities and the people that live in them. Let's hope this settlement is enough to make up for the hardships these coal miners and their families have had to go through. Appalachia says NO to Jim Justice!

A U.S. District Court ruled that 100 miners employed at Justice-owned Nine Mile Mining were not given a federally-required 60-day notice when they were laid-off in May of 2013.
The court ordered attorneys to come up with a settlement amount to be paid to the ex-workers. Nine Mile Mining is a subsidiary of Justice parent company Southern Coal, based in Roanoke, VA.
Read more here: http://www.roanoke.com/business/news/justice-owned-mining-company-loses-lawsuit-over-layoff-in-wise/article_8c26254f-e486-5ef6-892a-b11acd61da43.html

"There’s enormous potential for jobs in healing the land and sustainably using our natural resources. Justice wants more permits to create more devastation, and we want it to stop.” — SAMS VP Jane Branham.
Read our full statement: http://bit.ly/SAMS-CMI-request

Ten years ago today in the community of Inman, a boulder was dislodged from the Looney Ridge strip mine on Black Mountain that killed three-year-old Jeremy Davidson in his bed.
This morning, members of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards attempted to meet A&G Coal Corp. employees to deliver a letter demanding regular citizen mine inspections and that Jim Justice immediately put people to work reclaiming his operations.
FULL RELEASE: http://bit.ly/SAMS-CMI-request
SIGN OUR PETITION: https://www.bit.ly/signjtoj
READ OUR DEMANDS: https://www.bit.ly/jtojdemands

We're happy to see Jim Justice owning up to his mistakes and cooperating with regulators. Put people to work AND heal the land! Let's see this happen all over the region: Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

BREAKING NEWS: Kentucky state regulators have reached a sweeping settlement with billionaire coal operator Jim Justice, who promises to post $10.5 million in bonding to ensure proper and timely regulator. In terms of the amount of land reclamation needed to be done, the Justice case is the largest Kentucky has had to deal with in over ten years, according to an official at the Energy & Environment Cabinet.
However, the deal also reduces from $4.5 million to $1.5 million the amount in fines that Justice must pay, and it allows Justice to resume mining at three locations where the state ordered that work be stopped because of environmental problems. Regulators say that resuming mining at those sites will facilitate reclamation.
Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/08/19/kentucky-regulators-settle-jim-justice-mining-violations/14287377/
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Look at all of the organizations speaking out against coal baron billionaire Jim Justice! Thanks to SOCM, Coal River Mountain Watch, Appalachian Voices, and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth for joining the Justice to Justice Campaign!

Announcing our partners in the Justice to Justice Campaign! Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards is proud to share that these four organizations from all across Central Appalachia are supporting the fight to hold Jim Justice accountable for his actions in our region.
We are joined by our allies SOCM (Tennessee), Coal River Mountain Watch (West Virginia), Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (Kentucky), and Appalachian Voices (regional) in demanding that Jim Justice clean up his mess, pay off his debts, and stop poisoning our water.
"By poisoning the air and water of communities near his mountaintop removal sites, Jim Justice condemns them to deadly health impacts. This must stop now,” said Vernon Haltom, Executive Director of Coal River Mountain Watch.
Read more: http://bit.ly/j2jsignons
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One of these things is not like the others! Three different editorials and only one has the courage to speak out against coal baron billionaire Jim Justice. Thanks to the Lexington Herald-Leader for taking a stand for Kentucky and for Appalachia.
Read the three recent editorials here:
http://www.kentucky.com/2014/08/04/3365737/shifting-costs-onto-others-an.html
http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20140703/DM04/140709808
http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140731/ARTICLE/140739938/1103
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READ OUR DEMANDS: https://www.bit.ly/jtojdemands

Kentucky has a lot to say about Jim Justice's environmental record in the state. Out of the 266 pending federal violations against coal baron billionaire Jim Justice, almost half of them (129 violations) are in the state of Kentucky.
Additionally, civil penalties against Justice have increased to $2 million. Len Peters, Secretary of Kentucky's Energy and Environment Cabinet, stated that he has signed more than 100 enforcement actions against the Justice companies since about March, adding that he's "tempted to send them a bill for the amount of ink that I've used."
"For the past two and one half years, your company has allowed these problems to continue, languish and multiply to the point that the department is left with no recourse other than to take these actions," wrote Steve Hohmann, Commissioner of Kentucky's Department of Natural Resources, in a letter to Stephen Ball, a senior vice president of the Justice-owned Southern Coal.
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READ OUR DEMANDS: https://www.bit.ly/jtojdemands
Full article: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/07/30/beshear-political-supporter-faces-big-environmental-enforcement-actions-fines/13371809/

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy is taking steps to reign in the strip mining empire of Jim Justice! Regulators with the DMME are preparing to seize $9.9 million from A&G Coal through bond forfeiture in an attempt to restore idle mining land at company expense.
The funds will be used to guarantee reclamation of disturbed mined land at four Wise County locations. Justice's A&G coal has exceeded the permitted time a mine can be left idle, which is one year.
“It’s pretty significant to see this,” said DMME spokeswoman Tarah Kesterson, calling bond forfeiture a last-resort enforcement option not deployed against mine owners in a decade. “Most of our companies, the reason we don’t have to do bond forfeiture is because they are good stewards of the law. This [action against Justice] is because the law has been violated and several problems have not been fixed.”
SIGN OUR PETITION: https://www.bit.ly/signjtoj
READ OUR DEMANDS: http://www.justicetojustice.com/
Full story here:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/regulators-seek-funds-from-four-justice-coal-mines/article_d38dffc9-6f2d-5df8-9dd9-8cf532c9ab28.html

BREAKING: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has issued 39 cessation orders against the three coal companies owned by billionaire Jim Justice in Tennessee: National Coal, Premium Coal, and S&H Mining.
The violations were issued under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) for failing to report water monitoring data and for road maintenance violations and a failure to meet mine reclamation requirements. The total financial cost of the violations is not known at this time.
Stephanie Langley, the Chair of SOCM’s E3 (Energy, Ecology, and Environmental Justice) Committee said, “We applaud the efforts of OSMRE to hold Jim Justice accountable for his negligence. These companies have a long history of violations and are notorious for harming the environment and the people of Appalachia.”
SIGN OUR PETITION: https://www.bit.ly/signjtoj
READ OUR DEMANDS: http://www.justicetojustice.com/
Full release: http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2014/07/coal-giant-jim-justice-ordered-cease-mining-operations-tennessee
Photo of Premium Coal site courtesy of http://tnleaf.org/